Here's the propaganda as per Dana Milbank.
It has been a week of sweet vindication for those who promulgated what they call the Bush Doctrine.
Beginning with the capture of Saddam Hussein a week ago and ending Friday with an agreement by Libya's Moammar Gaddafi to surrender his unconventional weapons, one after another international problem has eased.
On Tuesday, the leaders of France and Germany set aside their long-standing opposition to the war in Iraq and agreed to forgive an unspecified amount of that country's debt. On Thursday, Iran signed an agreement allowing surprise inspections of its nuclear facilities after European governments applied intense pressure on the U.S. foe. On Friday, Libya agreed to disarm under the watch of international inspectors, just as administration officials were learning that Syria had seized $23.5 million believed to be for al Qaeda.
To foreign policy hard-liners inside and outside the administration, the gestures by Libya, Iran and Syria, and the softening by France and Germany, all have the same cause: a show of American might.
Those who developed the Bush Doctrine -- a policy of taking preemptive, unprovoked action against emerging threats -- predicted that an impressive U.S. victory in Iraq would intimidate allies and foes alike, making them yield to U.S. interests in other areas. Though that notion floundered with the occupation in Iraq, the capture of Hussein may have served as the decisive blow needed to make others respect U.S. wishes, they say.
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Exactly what Libya had is here.
From the Times (UK):
Speaking from Durham, near his Sedgefield constituency, the Prime Minister disclosed that British diplomats had been negotiating with Libya since March over the issue. The talks began at the request of the Libyans after a deal was struck over compensation for the victims of the Lockerbie bombing.
And from the Telegraph:
Revealed: the real reason for Gaddafi's WMD surrender
By Julian Coman and Colin Brown
(Filed: 21/12/2003)
Libya's promise to surrender its weapons of mass destruction was forced by Britain and America's seizure of physical evidence of Col Muammar Gaddafi's illegal weapons programme, the Telegraph can reveal.
United States officials say that America's hand was strengthened in negotiations with Col Gaddafi after a successful operation, previously undisclosed, to intercept transport suspected of carrying banned weapons.
The operation is said to have been carried out under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), an international, American-led scheme to halt the spread of WMD by seizing them in transit. The PSI was first mooted by President George W Bush in May but was not officially launched until September.
Last week, a senior official from the US State Department confirmed that the PSI had "netted several seizures", although he refused to give further details
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The point of view that moves to address Libya, Iran, etc being delayed, not abetted, by Iraq are likely to be conspicuously absent for the next few weeks. But there's no question that this is likely to be a most dangerous week that willl see an unusually public amount of chest-thumping on the part of the neocons as they continue to try to get the upper hand in Washington.
Reality will set in, but be prepared for the Wurlitzer to crank up the volume. The Bushies want to make the point that with Saddam gone and libya cowed, the world is a safer place. And when expectations of peace and prosperity are raised? What then? There's a down side to this just as in Iraq. And one can bring that up without being unpatriotic. Just not this week.